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December 9, 2016

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News America, Inc. v. Google Inc. (Subpoena)

NOTE: The information and commentary contained in this database entry are based on court filings and other informational sources that may contain unproven allegations made by the parties. The truthfulness and accuracy of such information is likely to be in dispute. Information contained in this entry is current as of the last event mentioned in the "Description" section below; additional proceedings might have taken place in this matter since this event.

Threat Type:

Subpoena

Date:

08/04/2005

Status:

Concluded

Location:

California

Verdict or Settlement Amount:

N/A

Legal Claims:

Copyright Infringement

An anonymous blogger posted the entire contents of the New York Post's Page Six column on a blog without advertisements. On July 8, 2005, counsel for News America (the parent company of the Post) sent Google (the parent company of Blogger) a... read full description

Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat:

News America, Inc.

Party Receiving Legal Threat:

Google, Inc. (Blogger)

Type of Party:

Large Organization

Type of Party:

Large Organization

Intermediary

Location of Party:

New York

Location of Party:

California

Legal Counsel:

Christina V. Fragola

Description

An anonymous blogger posted the entire contents of the New York Post's Page Six column on a blog without advertisements. On July 8, 2005, counsel for News America (the parent company of the Post) sent Google (the parent company of Blogger) a takedown notice pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In the letter, counsel for News America asserted that the blog's use of Page Six content constituted copyright infringement and requested that Google remove or disable access to the blog. Counsel also requested that Google disclose contact information for the blogger. Google disabled access to the blog, but did not respond to the informal request to disclose identity of the Page Six blogger.

On August 4, 2005, News America sought a subpoena in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to compel disclosure of the blogger's identity. The docket indicates that News America served the subpoena on Google on September 14, 2005. The docket reflects no further action after that date, and it is unclear whether Google was able to disclose the identity of the blogger.

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